Bonfires, Fireworks, and Tar Barrels
by The Storian
Summary: Harry and Ginny spend Bonfire Night in Ottery At Catchpole, having a much livelier time than they originally intended. H/G, slight R/H


***Apparates***

 **Hi! I do not own Harry Potter! I don't own Guy Fawkes Night! I don't own the invention of the firework! I don't even own the tar barrels!**

 **Happy Bonfire Night Everyone!**

* * *

The crowds were insane.

When Ginny had suggested going to the Bonfire Night celebrations in Ottery St Catchpole, near her childhood home, Harry hadn't had any idea of how... _insane_ it would be. He had known that Ottery St Catchpole was a quiet little muggle village, so he had expected was a few fireworks, a decent bonfire, and a few locals. What he got was five firework shows, three bonfires (one was absolutely _enormous_ ), hundreds of tourists, and people balancing _flaming barrels of tar_ on their shoulders.

"I forgot how much fun this was!" Ginny laughed, grabbing hold of him so that they would not lose each other in the crazy crowds.

"How could you forget _this!_ " Harry rose his voice to be heard, and gestured to the latest group of 'Tar-Barrellers' as they ran down the street.

Ginny laughed, "Must've just slipped my mind..." she smiled innocently.

Harry smiled and leaned in close to her. "Of course," he rolled his eyes, "just like always."

"Yep," Ginny whispered to his lips, "Just like always." Then she leaned in and...

"Oi!" A familiar voice yelled towards them, and the two broke apart. The face of Ron Weasley, accompanied by Hermione Granger, appeared out of the crowd.

"What're you doing?" Ron raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Ginny rolled her eyes and said exasperatedly, "What do you think, Ronald?"

Ron crossed his arms. "I really would rather not, thanks."

"So..." Hermione stepped between the Weasley siblings, clearly sensing danger, "Have you been watching the tar barrels?" When Harry and Ginny both hesitantly nodded, she jumped straight into a completely expected lecture.

"Did you know that the tar barrel tradition is hundreds of years old? Nobody knows the exact origins of course, but it is generally assumed to have started after the defeat of Guy Fawkes, he tried to blow up the muggle parliament. I told you about that, didn't I?" Taking their silence as affirmative, she continued, "There are other theories, like signalling the approach of The Spanish Armada, I'll have to tell you about that sometime, and fumigation of cottages, 'pest control', but the general assumption is after Guy Fawkes in 1605.

"Of course, The West Country has a history of torchlight processions, Ottery once was only one of the many towns that had a tradition of rolling barrels, but apparently this was deemed 'tame' and people began carrying them on their shoulders. When this got boring, they started setting them on fire. An extremely dangerous activity." She reminded them, before continuing, "And this, Ottery became the only town with this exact tradition. Isn't it fascinating?" She asked them.

Harry and Ginny stopped whispering, and Ron seemed to come out of a sleep.

"Oh, erm, yes. Very interesting." Harry attempted.

"Where on earth did you learn all that?!" Ginny shook her head at Hermione, who looked rather pleased.

"I just did a little light reading on the subject before I came." She said flippantly.

"Yes, 'light'," Ron smiled fondly, "Next time, I won't tell you in advance-" Hermione huffed - "and you will still, by some miracle, have one hundred facts about it." Hermione sighed but looked rather proud, though she tried to hide it.

"So, there's another fireworks show in a few minutes, do you want to see that?" Harry addressed the group, mainly Ginny.

"Yeah!" Ron beamed, "Muggle fireworks are bloody brilliant sometimes if you ask me, we should definitely check them out!"

"Okay then," Ginny began steering them in the direction of the firework show, "Let's go before we miss all the good ones!"

As they watched the astonishingly professional fireworks, Ginny pulled Harry towards her, and whispered, " Do you want to try to recreate that moment earlier?"

Harry whisper-laughed and pulled her towards him as an answer. The two were about to kiss, when...

" _How do they do it!"_ Both turned to see Molly and Arthur Weasley, Ginny's parents, standing next to them. Arthur was the one posing the question.

"It's actually a rather fascinating process!" Hermione appeared, "You see, they are actually formed from gunpowder themselves, and when lit with a spark-!"

"Maybe later, Hermione." Ginny spoke through gritted teeth.

"Of course!" Arthur clapped his hands with glee, "We obviously don't want to miss the bonfire!"

"Yes, we shouldn't be late. Let's not lose each other! Everyone hold hands and we'll head towards the largest one, sound good?" Molly organised the group with a level of patience only a seven-time mother could possible have.

Everyone agreed, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

The group made their way back through the crowds, when Ron spotted a Fish and Chips shop. As Harry, Hermione, and even Ginny felt a little hungry, they decided to drop in to grab something to eat. They left the shop with four regular fish and chip servings, one burger and chips, and one extra large cod (for Ron).

By the time they reached the bonfire, there was already quite a crowd. There really were all sorts, from wizards, to businessmen, to young children playing with glow sticks. Harry almost didn't notice himself getting pulled away by a certain redhead.

"I always thought that smaller bonfires had more of an appeal to them, you know?" Ginny's eyes sparkled at Harry.

"Definitely." He grinned back.

The two leaned in closer, and their lips found each other. The small bonfire blazed in the background, seemingly shining brighter now.

* * *

 **Just a fluffy OneShot, inspired by bonfire night. The tar barrels are a real thing, they take place in Ottery St Mary, which is where Ottery At Catchpole is based on (apparently). All the facts in Hermione's lecture are real facts about the tar barrels (though I just googled the information really), which I have actually attended many times myself. Please review if you enjoyed this and I hope to bring you more soon!**

 ***Disapparates***


End file.
